Scenario

Lifeline Technologies is a local Bay Area software company with approximately 75 employees. Lifeline Technologies' office is in a three-story commercial building that shares space with four other businesses. Lifeline Technologies is located on and occupies the entire third floor and can be accessed via elevator, main staircase, and emergency staircase leading to a back hall just around the corner from the main business entrance. Inside the main office of the company is an open glass door with a reception area. The office area behind reception is an open office environment, where employees mingle and interact in true IT fashion. Over the course of six months employee John Raymond had been exhibiting strange behaviors that included bursts of anger toward management and other employees. He would often be heard yelling in the bathroom after interactions with his direct managers. He became more and more violent toward others and pushed a female coworker during an altercation. After several attempts by management to change his behavior, Raymond was subsequently terminated and escorted out of the building by the local police. In the days following, Raymond made threats via email, Twitter, Facebook, and phone to several coworkers and the founders of the company. Raymond filed a lawsuit against the company, and he continued to make threats and taunted staff and ownership in various media outlets. Management and the company owners considered filing charges and were going to secure a restraining order but decided against it fearing it would cause more problems. Since Raymond's termination and subsequent threats, the organization did make some changes in the short term. They hired a security guard for the lobby area to patrol and escort employees. Police were asked to provide additional patrols and cameras were placed at the entrance to the business. Since the lawsuit was filed, Raymond's threats seemed to subside but did reappear on occasion in social media and in email. Six months had passed since Raymond was terminated and the threats were subsiding, so the organization decided to no longer use security. Management made no other protocol or policy changes (secured door access, more cameras, etc.) and did not maintain the security cameras purchased after the incident. Two years later, Lifeline Technologies had been sold to another organization and the owners had retired. Three years after Raymond's initial termination and threatening behavior, his lawsuit was dismissed. Raymond silently walked out of the courtroom and an hour later accessed the emergency stairwell leading to Lifeline Technologies' third-floor office. He burst through the front door with a shotgun and handgun, shooting and killing 10 people and injuring over 25 others. During the incident employees did their best to hide behind desks and filing cabinets, but it made little difference in the open environment. Some tried to escape through the emergency stairwell, but Raymond had blocked the door and employees were killed as they tried to get out. Police arrived in less than 90 seconds and the shooting spree ended when Raymond gave up as he was walking out of the building.

Assess the incident as it unfolded to determine:

• The emergency level of the incident
• Appropriate response procedures that should occur (i.e., evacuating personnel from premises, setting a wide perimeter to allow access for emergency response vehicles, etc.)
• Appropriate tools and technologies that should be utilized
• Explain appropriate protocols that should be taken for managing and controlling communications, including:
• Internal communication protocols to communicate with other personnel and partners involved in the emergency management process
• External communication protocols for dealing with the media (to control the story and adhere to appropriate standards, policies, laws, and ethical considerations)
• Please use in-text citations and references.